The salary of Br1,000 is a minimum amount that the state should help people earn, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said as he met with the personnel of OAO Rechitsadrev on 11 April, BelTA has learned.

“Br1,000 is a minimum amount and we should help people earn it. Then they will take care of themselves. Of course, we will encourage them. Directors and the government will do it. We must restore the level that we once had,” Alexander Lukashenko said.

The head of state also spoke about employment. In particular, there are several hundreds of unemployed people in Rechitsa. They account for less than 1% of able-bodied citizens. “They should be able to get a job in accordance with their qualifications. Many people want to work, earn a lot of money but they did not even do well at school. You can criticize me if you want. You will have other presidents, and they will pursue the same policy if they want to keep the country stable. It is inadmissible when 350,000 ‘social parasites', as they call themselves, in the country are doing nothing. Is it normal?” the President wondered.

In his words, there are many potential delinquents among these people. They can start committing crimes for money.

Alexander Lukashenko said that he is not against criticism. However, people should think about the future of their country first. “If you want to criticize, go ahead, but think about the future. Everybody should work today,” the President is convinced. “The time is difficult, but we already see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

The President also spoke about pricing. According to him, the state will deal with unreasonably high prices. “The government has already started to move. Market-oriented people emerged there: they released prices for everything and saw their growth,” Alexander Lukashenko said.